NEW ORLEANS — With Election Day just a few short days away, News with a Twist got the chance to sit down with the two candidates still in the race for New Orleans mayor.
Today, we feature our interview with former judge Desiree Charbonnet. Tomorrow, we will publish our one-on-one interview with City Councilwoman Latoya Cantrell.
Here’s the verbatim of what she had to say:
LBJ: With regards to your administration and the NOPD, what would be the biggest change to how we execute public safety?
Charbonnet: I would say using technology, going into that venue with technology. We just got some license plate readers. there’s lots on the horizon with technology. It’s a force multiplier as they say. When your ranks are low, you can use technology to sort of supplement.
LBJ: As it relates to Sewerage and Water Board, the biggest difference for you there … in terms of where we are now versus where you would want us to be?
Charbonnet: First of all, making sure the person’s an engineer. The gentleman before was not. To me that’s key. I’d like to see more engineers on the board. Some people have asked if we bring it to a city agency and not an out-of-state board anymore. I’m gonna be cautious about that.
LBJ: One of the projects of Mayor Landrieu has been the Nola for Life initiative. One of the goals was to address the systemic issues behind violent crime. How do we look at fixing what is broken in the system?
Charbonnet: When we talk about curbing violent crime, we also have got to make sure we give our children something to do, that we are inspiring them, giving them goals, giving them jobs.
LBJ: Is there a plan for the statues, and where do we go?
Charbonnet: I think there is a place for the statues. They are considered historical works of art and they should be in a place. The difference in the way I would approach it, Lebron, is that I want the community to be involved in how we go forward.
LBJ: Talk to us about your plan to address the streets and the infrastructure.
Charbonnet: People need to see results for the taxes that they’re paying, and they don’t feel like they are. That’s one of the biggest priorities next to crime is to get the streets projects going really, really quickly. I think it’s gonna progress faster and better than most of us expect, but they will be pleasantly surprised.